Youth

Our young people are amazing and have the ability to see the holy around, among, and within them. We wanted them to have an opportunity to share all this with their bishop, Audrey Scanlan, during her visit with us on Sunday. Using a format that involved sharing, silence, meditative chanting, and the ringing of a singing bowl, children and adults gathered together to share the sacred in their lives and in their church experience. Themes of finding God in comfort,…

It seemed appropriate that the gospel text for the day of the Bishop’s visit was on Jesus’ mountaintop experience which transfigured him and transformed the disciples in their understanding of Jesus’ identity and their shared mission. That’s what happened yesterday when Bishop Audrey Scanlan led us in worship, confirmed those ready to commit anew to their faith, blessed a parish member and resident of The Episcopal Home who wanted to reaffirm her faith, engaged in the sharing of stories and…

Today we began our Pre-Confirmation Class– and boy, were we delighted and amazed (once again) at our young people — what they’re interested in, the questions they have, and their already deep understanding of worship. We were blessed that Dean Robyn Szoke was with us to help facilitate the conversation about the beginning part of our Holy Eucharist Service, touching on the topics of: how we come into worship, how (and by whom) are we welcomed, and the Collect for…

At our Annual Meeting on Sunday, we approved the slate of vestry members, recognized the outgoing vestry members, celebrated our ministries in 2017, had a frank conversation about our financial deficit, and approved our budget for 2018. All of those things were fabulous and spoke volumes of the strength of our parish. For me, however, the highlight was in presenting my Rector’s Award to two of our young people. Typically, only adults receive this award and it’s usually because of some…

A number of us gathered this past Saturday, as the warm air surrounded us and the bright sun shone down upon our shoulders, warming us to the chilliness of Middle Spring Creek, which we found ourselves wading in as we participating in a stream clean-up as one of our Youth Mini-Mission Events. We began by learning about what a watershed is and why it matters. The map shown to us by our excellent guide visually showed our connections with each…

This past Sunday 17 young people and 10 adults gleaned 900 pounds of apples! It was remarkable! The day was beautiful and the energy high as we headed out in the rows of apples to pick any remaining fruit from the tree or to choose good apples from the ground. it was an amazing experience to have so many of us show up to gather food, which was then transported to SPO (Shippensburg Produce Outreach) and was distributed today to…

This past Sunday, our young people joined in the fun and created their own beads for their Anglican Prayer Bead sets. We are so grateful they are interested in exploring different ways to pray and always feel welcome to do whatever it is the adults are doing. I just love these intergenerational events!

This Sunday we had a special offering for our young people ages 9-12 year olds. Once a month we engage the curriculum “Building Faith: Brick by Brick”. It’s a time when our young people listen to a story from our scripture and then reflect on how it connects to their life, and then they build with LEGOs something in response. It’s all about helping our young people hear something from God’s story and figure out how it’s a part of…

This past Saturday, our parish was represented at the National Acolyte Festival~ and it was so much fun! We joined many other young people at our beautiful National Cathedral in Washington, DC. We brought our many beautiful banners along and proudly joined the procession. We sat right up front so we could be a part of the grand service. We were honored by the message offered to us by The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson who was the presider and preacher.…

Last Wednesday, fifteen people gathered in fellowship, ate dinner together, and then got busy in the fun work of creating our own beads for our Anglican Prayer Beads. We learned a bit about prayer beads during our dinner time and then rolled out the clay to make our own. It was SO much fun. We chose 3-4 colors to work with, layered them by rolling them out, and then cutting them into segments, which we then rolled into beads. It…

Today we celebrated the Feast Day of St. Francis, who is known for his simple life of poverty and service and his deep reverence for God’s creation and all of God’s creatures. We welcomed many pets, which added fun and liveliness to our worship service. We blessed cats, dogs, guinea pigs, and two adorable little bunny rabbits. We are blessed by the animal companions we share life with. It was a joy to be able to offer God’s blessings upon…

In the stillness of the cool evening, we gathered to be intentional around our time with God. We began in prayer, chose a psalm passage, and then headed out to meander by the creek, contemplate and color, find stillness sitting on a rock in the water, crossing the water, and spending time repeating our psalm passage in our hearts. After 45 minutes, we gathered to reflect. We all had a greater sense of peace. We all knew this was a good…